VCRs and Flashes
by pyr0technic
Summary: In this world, they are too many characters with too many stories to tell. In which May finds out she may have more in common with Paul than she thought. ((Requests are open! Any pairing, any prompt.))
1. only blue

**Pairing: **Palletshipping

**Prompts: **a basement, handcuffs, & XTC

**Notes: **This was a _request _from my friend. :) **If you'd like to request a pairing and some prompts too, do so in a review. It can have as many prompts as you want and/or multiple pairings!** This is just for some character interaction practice. And on an additonal note, this does seem a bit off from what I usually do, but I'm willing to give it a try ;-)

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**only blue**

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"Ash, I really don't know why you keep insisting on these childish sleepovers."

"Well, number one: I insist because I'm lonely. Number two: ...Well, Mom's going to make curry tonight and it'd be a shame to let it go to waste!"

Gary sighed while holding a telephone up against his ear, contemplating the boy's request. Not only was he his former rival, but he was completely oblivious to the implications behind everything he did. He supposed it didn't matter, though. It was _Ash._

"Lonely? Since when are you ever _lonely_? What about umm, Misty? Or Brock? You're _always _with them!" Gary reasoned, desperately trying to get out of the raven-haired boy's clutches. He had a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach at the thought of spending time with him tonight, which was definitely not a good thing.

"Yeah, but they've been really busy! Come _on__, Gary! _Please?" Ash pleaded. Gary could almost _see _his bright brown puppy eyes, he imagined with a smirk.

"Fine. But I call the blue chair in the basement."

Ash paused. "You drive a hard bargain..."

"Well?"

"Okay, deal."

He could hear cheering from the other end of the phone, and Gary rolled his eyes. He really hadn't matured a bit since he'd known him as a kid. They were both very close growing up, but had a rather strong and intense rivalry when they hit puberty, but had finally managed to get back to the close friend relationship again.

Gary stood up and began rummaging throughout his closet to find something good to wear. He paused for a minute.

_Remind me why I care about what I wear to his house? It's just Ash, for Mew's sake. I usually go in sweatpants and a t-shirt. What's with the sudden change, self? _

He pondered over this while still searching for something. He grabbed a pair of jeans and stepped into them while hopping over to pull on a shirt over his head. Inspecting himself in the mirror, he reached for a comb and attempted to tame the mess that was his hair.

It didn't work out, so he left his spikes alone with resignation and turned off all of the lights in his house, checking the stove, and hastily packing and overnight bag.

The overnight bag was always Gary's biggest pain. He always forgot one of the most important things, so he double-_double _checked and in his haste of stuffing items into the bag, probably brought several unnecessary things as well. Better over prepared than under prepared?

Locking the house, he hauled it over his shoulder, starting the short walk to the Ketchum household. Ash immediately plagued all of his thoughts.

_This feels rather more nerve wracking than it does usually...I don't know, I've known Ash, since forever, this really shouldn't be a problem._

_Unless..._

_Okay, no, Gary. We are **not **going there. There is no way. Just, no. _

_This is going to be a harmless sleepover where I entertain said sixteen year old boy until he falls asleep, than I will fall asleep, and then I will wake up, have breakfast, and be on my merry way, maybe even escaping and getting to spend some time with Grandpa. Yes, that sounds nice. And I can forget about A-_

His thoughts were promptly interrupted as his forehead made contact with a wooden door. Rubbing his head and praying that the witnesses to this were lacking, he properly rapped his knuckles on the door, heartbeat accelerating.

_Chill, heart! It's just Ash!_

"Oh, hello!" He was greeted with an ecstatic Delia (as usual) and she ushered him inside, immediately gushing over him as an overly mother should.

"You've lost so much weight! My, my, I knew living on your own wasn't a good idea at this age! You haven't been eating properly at all, have you? We'll just have to fix that tonight..." Delia continued to pester on while Gary only rolled his eyes, allowing himself a small smile at the mother's concerns.

"I think he looks fine, Mom," came a boyish voice from the doorway to the kitchen. Ash stood, an uncharacteristic smirk spread over his face as he crossed his arms and peered almost triumphantly at Gary.

"Thanks for the concern, Ash," Gary easily countered, the smirk rising on his face much out of Ash's league. He couldn't however deny the fact that the tingling feeling in his stomach was growing and he began feeling it all the way in his fingertips.

Ash rolled his eyes, accepting his defeat inwardly (no one could defeat Gary in verbal battles) and walked up to throw his arms around him, anyway, treating him to a heart-melting smile that everyone seemed to love.

_It seems **I'm** certainly no exception. I mean, well! He has a nice smile, is all._

He awkwardly returned the hug all the while savoring the feeling of a certain warmth spreading throughout his body, giving him a certain ecstatic pleasure he was all to familiar too.

"Well, c'mon! Food's ready, so let's dig in!" Ash plopped down in one of the dining chairs, shoving the napkin out of his way and reaching for the utensils.

_Of course. Well, I suppose you can't really expect Ash to change. It's **Ash**._

"Indeed," Delia said, while serving generous proportions of potatoes and meat and vegetables on Gary's plate.

"Whoa, Ms. Ketchum, there's no way I can eat all of this!" Gary immediately protested at the rather monstrous pile on his plate that was food(delicious, nonetheless).

She only hummed, pretending not to hear him, helping herself as well as she picked up her plate and headed to the living room to watch television, leaving the boys to dine alone.

"No arguing with her. Besides, it's not even fair, she gave me _half _of what she gave you!" Ash protested, downing the contents on his plate almost instantly, reaching to help himself to seconds.

_I bet in a matter of ten more minutes he'll be helping himself to fourths_.

"Well, I just can't help if the female population simply adores me, can I?"

Ash paused momentarily to glare while slurping in what looked liked pasta - _I didn't know she made pasta! _- but continued eating.

However, it had set a sort of awkward tension. The mere mention of anything that had to do with relationships and females always made them act like this.

_I guess the only thing that will clear the tension is if I do something about it..._

"Why, do you have a girlfriend?" Ash asked casually, his eating pace suddenly slowed by several miles per hour.

_Props for Ash for never failing to make something a hundred times awkward than it is._

Gary swallowed the food in his throat carefully before answering, "No...how about you?"

Ash looked momentarily very surprised. At the fact that Gary hadn't retorted with a snide remark, or at the fact that he thought that _he _of all people had a girlfriend. Ash may have been cute in a boyish way, but his cluelessness had a rather repelling affect to any semi-intelligent girl.

"Oh, psh, yeah," Ash said, chewing away on what remotely resembled...meatballs?

Gary was surprised. Trying to sound nonchalant, he asked, "Really? You mean Misty?"

Ash merely shook his head and laughed. "What? No, I was kidding! Misty's my best friend, nothing more. She had a crush on me when we were little, but we worked it out."

"Oh."

_Oh, good. Wait? Good!? Ugh, I really shouldn't care who Ash goes out with. It's **his **life, Gary...and there I go, having a conversation with myself in my thoughts again. Why do I always do this? I might be schizophrenic or something. _

While Gary panicked over this eternal dilemma, Ash casually ate, completely oblivious as per usual.

"Well, I'm done. What about you?" Ash stood and dropped his plate in the sink before glancing at Gary, whose food was only half-finished.

"Gee, you actually finished? I thought you still had a tenth helping in you!" Gary commented, sticking his fork in the suddenly unappealing mashed potatoes. He felt extremely full.

"Hey, if you're nice, I'll tell Mom that you finished it!" Ash grinned and winked (which made Gary feel like a rock had just plummeted into his stomach) and dumped the rest of his food into the trash, stowing the plate away in the kitchen sink.

"Thanks. What would I ever do without you?" Gary smiled for a short moment before Ash took his hand in his and dragged him down the stairs to his basement, at which point Ash let go of his hand and jumped onto the blue chair.

Before Gary could even get over the shock of his tingling hand at the sudden contact, he glared. "I thought you said I could have the blue chair this time!"

"And? I say a lot of things, Gary." A cheshire cat grin on Ash.

Gary glared daggers and knives and guns and other explosives at the raven-haired trainer.

"I will _sit on you_." Gary threateningly planted his hands on his hips, hovering over the boy, who made no move to move away or respond.

"_Do it_."

_Well, I didn't see that coming. I...don't really want to do it, but I don't have a choice, do I? Besides, I really want that chair. He'll probably move after I sit on him, anyway. I'm probably a good twenty pounds heavier than him because of my height._

So Gary did the deed and plunked himself right down on the other boy's denim jean clad lap, defiantly crossing his arms in victory. "Well?"

Ash pretended to check his nails. "You could sit on me all day and I wouldn't move."

Feeling the heat rush to his face, Gary immediately leaped off and dejectedly moved to the other red chair. "Well, you can forget about that!"

_Just the thought of me sitting in his lap...ugh, it makes me stomach feel weird. In a bad way, of course! Definitely...a bad way._

Ash burst out into a boyish laugh while he reached for the remote and flicked the TV on, already bringing out the bags of popcorn he reserved specially for their sleepovers.

"We just ate!"

"Your point?"

"Touche," Gary said as he reached for the other popcorn bag.

They sat in a comfortable silence for the first ten minutes of the movie before Gary's jeans felt very uncomfortably rough and itchy. "Hey, mind if I change real quick upstairs?"

Ash glanced at him curiously. "You're gonna lug your bag up upstairs, and then upstairs again all the way to my room to change? You should just do it here."

_There it comes. The accelerated heartbeat. Goddammit, it's just pants! _

"Uh...okay," he said intelligently. Making sure not to make eye contact with Ash at all, he carefully slipped out of his jeans and stepped into his soft pajama pants, sighing in relaxation.

_Ah, much better. _He settled back into his chair while zipping up his bag, not aware of Ash's intent gaze at him at all.

"Hey, what have you got in there, anyway?"

Gary blinked. "Um...some stuff, I guess." To make it a point, he stuck a hand in the zipper and brought out the first two items he could find, which ended up being a toothbrush and...handcuffs?

"Uh, yeah, _some stuff _is right. What's with the handcuffs, huh?" Ash began eyeing them with an unmistakable curiosity, which made Gary apprehensive.

"I...don't know, I was kind of packing stuff in a rush and - "

"Ooh! They're just like the movie kind!"

"Hey, give 'em back!"

Ash quickly fastened one of them around his rist. "Cool! Look at me Gary, I'm arrested! Meheheheheh." His copper eyes were pointed towards Gary, who only sighed in exasperation at the thought of playing along with his act.

"C'mon, you're supposed to be the cop!" Ash said, frowning at his friend's old fart-ness. He took to fastening the other end of the handcuff's to Gary's wrist. "See! Now you're the cop!"

"Alright, fun's over, take 'em off," Gary said hastily, not liking the idea of the situation at the moment. Or liking it, but refusing to let himself to like it. Yes, that was it.

"I don't know how! You're the one with the keys!" Ash explained, gesturing the the overnight bag, which unfortunately for Gary was lacking keys.

"You idiot, the keys are at...home!"

Ash facepalmed.

Gary sighed. "Fine, I guess we can go get them now."

He tried to get up from the couch, but Ash's weight held him down. "Nah, don't worry about it. We can do it tomorrow. I'm too tired."

Gary didn't know what to make of his response. He awkwardly shifted foot to foot before settling back down in his seat, somewhat grudgingly so. Being in this situation put him on the edge somehow. The feeling of being so close made him feel jittery and tense.

...However, he would be lying if he said he didn't like it.

He'd be damned if anyone other than himself knew that, though.

"Ugh, so what's even going on in this movie?" Ash groaned, rubbing his eyes. Gary glanced at the television to see mindless zombies cornering a damsel in distress in a corner of a haunted mansion. Ah, unoriginal movies. Never disappointing.

"You didn't even pay a bit of attention? Typical Ashy-boy," Gary said, laughing at the boy's expense when he caught his glare at being called "Ashy-boy."

"Well, _sorry _that _you _distracted me..._Gare-bear_."

It was Ash's turn to chortle as Gary cringed at the less than godly name. _What are we, a couple? Well, even if we are...the thought of these nicknames only make me want to vomit. Hold on, where did that thought come from? Ugh. Okay, stopping this train of thought immediately. I don't like this._

"Hello?"

_..Oh no, don't even think about bringing up the 'd' word! And by that I mean denial! Nothing else!_

"Uh, Gary?"

_Who am I kidding. _

"Gare-bear?"

Gary was forced out of his temporary inner conversation. "Ew, what? Don't call me that!"

"Well, if you're done being all out of it, I wanted to ask you...what exactly are they doing in that movie?" Ash pointed a tan finger towards the glowing screen in the dark, where the scene had shifted to a party where several teens were huddled over, laughing and kissing.

Gary's eyes widened in realization as he caught a flash of the pills. _Oh. Does he not know? _"It's um...a drug."

"A drug? What kind of drug?"

_So he's oblivious in plenty more ways than one. Only this time, it's for his own good. _"It's...it's ecstasy, and...just never mind, forget it. You don't need to know anything about it."

Gary's response only further piqued Ash's curiosity. "What? C'mon, now you have to tell me!"

He sighed in exasperation. "It's a drug that you really don't want to get involved with. There are plenty of other ways you can find happiness."

Ash's face was very flat for a while, but he suddenly lightened and laid his hand over the brunette's. "Yeah, like you."

Gary couldn't help but color instantly but held his ground and stood still, holding eye contact.

"Well...yeah," he blurted stupidly.

Ash smirked at his response, suddenly catching sight of the boy's soft cheek. It was probably one of the worst ideas he had ever had, but...he leaned in and touched his lips quickly to the spot before standing, gesturing to the sleeping bags. "C'mon. The movie sucked anyway. Let's get some sleep."

Gary could only gape for a minute as he was dragged along by the raven-haired boy, frowning slightly as he realized one thing...

Ash definitely was _not _as oblivious as he let on.


	2. For Justice? No, only for you, darling

**Pairing: **Contestshipping

**Prompts: **a flirty Gary Oak & a jealous Drew

**Notes: **This was a _request _from the "toolazytologin" anon! Heheh, maybe after this they won't be so lazy. I'll try my best to fulfill this since the prompts you gave me were rather vague ;) Tell me if you manage to get that last line. **Remember,** **if you'd like to request a pairing and some prompts too, do so in a review. It can have as many prompts as you want and/or multiple pairings!**

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**For Justice? No, only for you, my darling.**

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"Okay, first of all, since when was I ever..._flirty_?"

"Since nearly forever. But that's not the point!"

Drew Hayden was attempting to have a serious discussion with his best friend Gary Oak, which proved to be quite difficult in their current scenario, which would be in the purse section of the store _Justice_.

"Dude, I work in a store full of teenage girls. I _have _to be. It's practically in the job description," Gary countered, rolling his eyes and arranging in the new stock of glittery purses accordingly.

Drew sighed in exasperation. It had been a long story how the two ended up working in the sparkly, loud, colorful hellhole, but neither of them liked to bring it up. They both just pretended two straight males working at _Justice _was completely natural and needed no unnecessary comments.

"Well, forget it. Just tell me if you see her around, alright?" Drew shook his head, sending pastel green hair into his eyes, leaving Gary to his humming to the store's cliche pop music (Drew knew Gary secretly liked to listen to _One Direction_. God knows what Gary would do if Drew brought it up, though).

Recently, in the midst of getting caught up in the usual (most of it involving the torture that came along with having a job in college) he had caught his favorite brunette around town, and had been interested in finding her to try and catch up, but up to this point, the girl had been suspiciously dodgy and avoiding of the chartreuse-haired boy in general.

And, well, Drew was all one for games, so when he saw that red bandana flash next to mall's main water fountain, he took no time at all in making a beeline for the girl and calling out her name.

She spun around on reflex, and Drew finally saw her face clearly for the first time.

Whoa.

She was a lot prettier than he remembered.

"Um...ah...hi!" May waved nervously and retreated her hand quickly and began fidgeting with her fingers.

Drew raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Shy, are we? I thought we got over this when we were thirteen, May," Drew said, instigating a nervous giggle from her.

"Yeah, yeah, I know..."

May rocked back and forth on her feet, while Drew stood in the uncomfortable silence with a placid look, unsure of what to say next.

Drew knew how the girl was though, so he only smirked and flicked his hair and said, "Well, Maple, I guess I'll see you around." He turned to make his departure but was almost instantly thwarted - all according to plan.

"Wait! Do you want, to, um, go get a drink later? I have to run an errand real quick, I'll...see you there at six!" May hurriedly jotted down the directions to the restaurant and stuffed the note in Drew's unsuspecting hands, blushing when her fingers lingered too long.

Drew simply interpreted the brunette's actions as her shy nature and nothing more, pocketing the slip of paper and calmly making his way back to work, where Gary stood there to welcome him.

"Drew? You idiot, your break was over ten minutes ago! I've been covering your shift!"

Or maybe not so much of a welcome.

"Thanks and sorry. I'll make it up to you! Why don't you join May and I for a drink this afternoon?" Drew proposed, unloading a shipment of boxes while the brunette overlooked him suspiciously.

He seemed to think about it for a second, but then frowned before saying, "You're just saying that because I'm the one with the car."

Drew chuckled. "Obviously that too, Oak."

Gary only sighed, nudging the end of his shoe to the other boy's. "Alright, fine. She better be hot."

At this, Drew's face contorted into a frown and said, "Even if she is, I don't see why it matters. God, you're so shallow."

Gary lit up. He had seen a cocky Drew, he had seen an angry Drew, and even a depressed Drew...but never once had he seen a _jealous _Drew. The concept was simply too entertaining to let go.

"Oh, so she's your girlfriend, I'm assuming?"

"No..."

"You want her to be, then?"

"No..."

"Denial will get you nowhere."

"Okay fine, kind of!"

Pleased that he had gotten the denial stage over with so quickly, he began to hatch his plan, one that involved Drew and May and Gary and restaurants and a buttload of mischief.

He really loved screwing with his best friend's life.

-.-

"Welp, we're here."

The duo pulled an old, white camery to a half-filled parking lot (Gary claimed it wasn't his fault he had to take his grandfather's old car) in front of a restaurant called _Enrique's._

"Let's go then, shall we?" Gary enthusiastically exited the car and locked it up while Drew followed, with much less gusto than the former.

"I'm seriously starting to wonder whether it was a good idea to bring you along..." Drew muttered, averting his gaze aside as he fell into step with Gary.

"Well, it was either that, or walk all the way here, so...I think I win." A triumphant sneer and a not-so-triumphant groan later, they were inside the restaurant exactly one minute late.

"Fashionably late, I see?" A certain petite brunette came into their view, dressed in a blue jeans and a bright red v-neck sweater. "Oh, hey, I know you!" she added as soon as her gaze had shifted to Gary.

Drew gave Gary a look, but he looked surprised himself. "Do you?"

"Yeah, I...oh, you're Professor Oak's son, right? My father and him are friends," May grinned, flashing a set of straight, shiny teeth, nearly blinding the boys.

Drew had definitely missed out on all the changes in May, he had decided. Since when did her teeth straighten up like that? And why did she look so damn pretty?

"Oh, well, nice to meet you, Miss May!" Gary made a show of greeting her, going as far as to air-kiss the brunette's hand.

Gary didn't miss the glare aimed at him by none other than the emerald eyed boy beside him. The kick in the shin was so worth it.

After they had been seated, the trio became silent as they scanned through menus, searching for something to eat. Gary took this up as the perfect oppurtunity to start conversation.

"So, May..." Gary lowered his menu while May did the same, copper eyes locking with sea blue. "Out of curiosity, have you ever had a boyfriend?"

May instantly flushed and hastily replied, "No? I mean, no! No."

Gary only chuckled, preparing himself from the kick in the shin that would surely come from Drew. "Oh, okay. Just asking. My sister is named May, and well, she's had a ton of boyfriends."

"That was literally the worst segway I've _ever _seen!" Drew whispered/yelled in the ear of his spiky-haired friend, who ignored his response and placed his order to the waitress.

"I'll have whatever he's having," May said promptly, handing in her menu.

Drew wasn't sure what to make of that, but as soon as he caught sight of Gary's slowly widening smirk he decided it was a definitely a bad thing.

Gary wondered how long he would last.

"So, May, if you don't have a boyfriend...there's got to be someone you like, right?"

_God dammit, Gary! _Drew yelled internally. Was there no way to sew his mouth shut, or...just poof it away?

"Isn't that something someone is supposed to keep private?" May tentatively replied, keeping her flush under control and hands fidgeting again without the menu in her hands to occupy them.

Gary took her response as an opportunity. "What? No, of course not! You have to get it off your chest somehow! Eventually!"

May looked towards the side nervously and bit her lip, completely unaware of the fact that she was enticing Drew.

_Damn her and her attractiveness. Damn it all. _

Keeping an ever so cool facade, Drew chimed in, "That is true."

May's eyes widened at this and she locked gazes with him, staring questioningly into his dull, green eyes... but they were filled with a kind of hope she thought she was imagining.

"I can't help but wondering if I know this lucky man..." Gary took no time at all in re-entering himself in the conversation, as daring as to lay his hand on top of May's and give it a slight squeeze, effectively crossing the line.

So Drew snapped in the most smoothest way as possible.

"Well, it doesn't matter, because _I _like May. And she's going to go out with me. Right?" He almost laughed at the brunette girl's glowing face, knowing that in her haste she would agree.

"Hey, you...you don't know that! I-I mean, you work for _Justice_! That's...that's just..._why_?"

Although she was doing a pathetic job trying to stand up for herself, she had taken a stand, and Drew had not anticipated that. She had changed much more than he had thought.

Gary burst out laughing. "There's your answer, grasshead!"

Drew growled internally but his smirk on the outside widened as he insisted, "Your point?"

May and Drew both knew very well that she wouldn't last under his pressure, and most definitely not under his gaze which was currently burning a hole through her skin. "A-Alright, fine."

"And that's how it's done," Drew said triumphantly, releasing a breath of air he didn't know he was holding as he met Gary's amused eyes.

"Sure, whatever, doesn't change the fact you work for _Justice_," Gary pointed out rather hypocritically.

"It was never for justice."


	3. No Words

**Pairing: **Outcryshipping

**Prompts: **"you turn the lights out, I'll tell you fairy tales"

**Notes: **This was a _request _from _Name Under Construction_. :D The pairing and prompt seem really interesting to work with, and I cannot wait! I hope I can live up to your expectations ;) Sorry if it's vague and stuff and totally unexpected, but I liked the concept of this. Tell me how you thought of it!

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**No Words**

* * *

Being rich is not all that you would expect it to be.

I may sound like an spoiled brat, but I am being completely serious. Well, for starters, I do not mean the billionaire kind of rich. I am the daddy's little girl kind of rich, the kind where you get anything you want as long as it's legal (and nonliving, not counting the time I had gone through a pet craze and ordered several types of cats and dogs and parrots...but, back to the point).

But as you know, everything in life has a catch. My catch just happened to be the fact that I've never been allowed to step a foot outside of my house since I was, well, born.

I feel as if it is just not worth it. I just want to let go of it all, and break free from the horrible cliche I'm living in.

But, I'm afraid.

I was never daring or outspoken or amazing like _he_ was.

I stop that train of thought immediately. I do not like thinking about him, or anything that involves me having to, god forbid, stand up to my family. The future terrifies me, and I am painfully aware that it is only growing closer by the second. My age of sixteen is not going to last forever, is it?

I'm sitting at the dining table in our kitchen alone, poking my fork into an absolutely delicious looking slice of triple chocolate cake. Of course, my appetite was lacking, severely at that. It always happened whenever I allowed myself to contemplate the horrors of my future.

I am beginning to think that I might slip into depression again, swinging my feet under the table as I do. But oh no, I stop immediately. That's bad manners.

I never bother to think that no one else is there.

Suddenly, the door bursts open and hits the wall with a shudder-inducing _bang_, and I see the oh so familiar face of _him_, Paul. He slams the door and angrily storms in, drenched (because of the rain, I'm presuming, which is odd, he's always prepared) and takes the seat next to me, still fuming.

"Well?" I tentatively ask after offering my jacket to dry himself off.

He takes it without meeting my eyes once, his permanent scowl seemingly etched even deeper.

"I'm getting married."

-.-

I felt really bad for laughing, but it could not be helped. The fact that he was in such ruins over it only further extended my amusement.

"May, if this is how you're going to act..." he threatens tauntingly, meeting my eyes with a familiar ferocity to which at this point, I am immune to.

"Alright, alright." My laughter dies down and we sit in silence for a couple of moments, my thoughts rushing at miles per hour.

As much as I hate to say it, I knew this was coming. Our families have both been in close ties, business-wise and socially for a long time now.

"It's Dawn Berlitz," he says suddenly.

It makes sense, I suppose. Dawn is the daughter of major business corporation in the Sinnoh region who manufacture several of the latest technological gadgets. Nothing that I would ever understand, as Paul tells me. Marrying him off to Dawn would seal the deal between the line that separates us, which in this case, our regions.

"I'm...well, what are you going to do about it?" I glance near the window of my room where the weather proves to be ever storming, matching Paul's mood at the moment perfectly. He stands from his spot near the window and sits at the foot of my bed instead, facing me.

His gaze pierces me and a flash of what I thought was genuine fear passed through his eyes. But no, that couldn't be. I just could not see him, of all people, being _frightened_. He is strong and he is brave and he always knows what he is doing.

That, I'm afraid, I will always believe unconditionally.

"I always thought that my parents would marry me off to _you_." Paul crosses his legs and doesn't meet my eyes, thankfully, because I'm sure the room's temperature just went up by several degrees.

I brush brunette locks away from my forehead with my suddenly sweaty hands. I am not sure how to respond to that. In my eyes, Paul is a given. He is my childhood friend, and while he is rude and rather unsociable, we are friends somehow. When I think of love, I picture someone spontaneous, someone who is all colors and roses and flirting.

And because Paul does not fit that picture, I never gave it a second thought.

Of course, I do not deny the fact that Paul is handsome. I suppose he is, of course. Even now, as I contemplate this while he is sitting across from me, an unreadable expression is on his face. Plum tufts of hair getting into his dark eyes, him annoyingly shaking his head to counter it.

I guess ever since I was little, I convinced myself that it would be stupid to like him. Sure, the boy had warmed up to me in the past several years, being my childhood friend and all, the _family _friend. He was my best friend, in fact. We had a relationship that didn't have to involve words, which is what I think I liked the most.

His parents would drop him off here, and he would saunter up to my room and claim my desk and read all of my books, while I calmly did the same.

And to suddenly be thrust into a reality as a married couple...well, that was rather difficult to imagine.

"Well, it wouldn't make very much sense, would it? Our families are already close. It makes sense that they would pick Dawn." I surprise myself with this response. I've always... well, I've always _despised_ arranged marriage. I'm terrified of it, because I know it's coming.

Paul seems to read my thoughts and his glare sharpens. "Are _you _the one to tell me about 'sense,' May? Do I look like I _care _if it makes bloody sense? You and I both know that this is not what we want."

I am taken aback by his last sentence. He keeps implying...

He takes note of my widened eyes and suddenly colors very uncharacteristically. "And by that I meant...what you want."

Of course that's what he meant. I need to stop assuming things. This is _Paul_. There's no way he would... well... yeah. I simply can't see it. I would even say that I'm surprised by the fact that Paul is resisting, but...

I'm not. I know him better than that.

I know that he is just like anyone else despite his demeaning personality. He wishes for all the things I do.

Really, we are more alike than you would ever imagine.

And we both know that.

Which is why I suddenly find myself saying, "Well, what are you going to do about it, Paul?"

The pen he was playing with from my desk snaps in his hands. "I just...don't know anymore. I don't want to run away from my problems. I'm not...I'm not weak or pathetic enough to do that."

I chuckle, and it would have gone unheard if not for the pin-drop silence in the room. I suddenly feel an overwhelming surge of affection and sympathy and I take my friend's hand in mine.

He flinches, predictably at the physical contact and I could swear his palms are starting to sweat.

"Sometimes, running away is all you can do," I tell him, smiling somewhat in a melancholy way.

He wrenches his hand away and growls, and I can hear him muttering under his breath, "_No, no, no, no, no._"

"There has to be some other way, I can...maybe I can try reasoning."

We both lift our heads and make eye contact at the same time, and instantly we are thinking the same thing.

It would never work. And even if it did, everything would fall apart. Our families would fall apart and the damage caused would be worse than any kind of marriage we could have hoped for.

Paul's eyes widen suddenly, and I realize that there are tears on my cheeks. At this, I feel even more overwhelmed and I began to sob, hiding my face in my hands. I turn away from Paul because I certainly do not expect him to comfort me, because he's Paul.

He will always be that way.

"May, as much as I'd like to comfort you and tell you it's okay, it's not. You know that," he says. I'm not looking but I know that he is frowning in my direction.

I am in fact very aware, but he is doing nothing to help this overwhelming feeling of desperation and sorrow I feel. Why am I so useless? Why can't I break away from these chains?

Why can't I just get this sacrifice over with?

Paul is so brave and strong. He is willing to face this head on. Why can't I do this?

He lets me cry for another few moments, and finally says, "I'm sorry I..."

I know what he is trying to say. "It's okay. Your presence is enough," I tell him reassuringly.

I have a coughing fit at that moment, and while I don't expect him patting me on the head or anything of the sort, he fetches me a water bottle and orders me to drink.

I take the bottle from his hands and gulp it hungrily, feeling dehydrated and sad and pathetic and weak.

"May, I change my mind. I'm ready to leave all of this behind if you are."

Shock hits me like a slap in the face once more. I'm having trouble processing Paul, today. I know this is him, but I've never truly been able to see this side of him before.

"Are you suggesting that..._us_...?" I trail off with the question, knowing he would interpret my cryptic question correctly.

Again with the uncharacteristic flushing, he replies, "I just assumed..."

I did not want to lie to him. Not at this point. "I have thought us that way before, but I could never see it, honestly. I thought you would find your own path, and well...leave me behind."

I sound as if I've aged ten years. That can't be a good thing.

I look outside, and the storm rages on, rain pattering against my window with the wind's force.

I really am stuck in the most horrible cliche imaginable.

"You could never see it? Why?" he inquires me in a strangely tentative voice. It is strange to hear him without the confidence clear in his voice.

"Because I wouldn't...let myself. I thought it would be pointless," I say. I can't believe that I'm saying this and that it's true. Where is all of this coming from? He's invoking emotions from me that I haven't felt in a long time.

He falls silent, looking down at his lap somewhat dejectedly.

I begin to feel this unshakable feeling of remorse. It weighs on my heavily and I will it to go away, but it won't.

"What do we do now?" I am terrified of the answer, and something tells me he's not to keen on it either.

"You know, don't you?" Paul says, inching ever so slightly closer.

I manage to nod slightly and attempt to mask the terrified expression that must be plastered on my face, but I know it will not fool him. No momentary lapse in my facade could fool anyone. He has told me that I was like my books...

Easy to read.

"I want to forget about this," I say as my voice drops down to a whisper, pulling my bed covers over my knees and to my face.

I am a child.

I feel hopeless, but there is nothing I can do.

I think Paul almost smiles for a second when he says, "You turn the lights out, I'll tell you fairytales."

And despite everything, despite _him, them, _and most importantly, _me_... I smirk and comply to his request, settling back down in bed as he reaches for my favorite book, moving to sit next to me.

And then he reads, and I find myself slipping into a new world. I know it won't last and it's pointless to torture myself like this and I'm just so _scared._

But at this moment, I realize I feel something.

"I take it back. I see us like that," I say suddenly.

For a second he stops reading. I'm afraid he didn't register what I said, because I am definitely much too shy to repeat myself, and I know he is, too.

However, all doubts are washed away when he slips an arm around my shoulder before resuming the tale, and I smile.

He never needs words.

I slowly slip into the fairytale and then into him, clutching desperately onto the feeling of _him_, the only thing I know that has a chance to last.


End file.
